Five Questions for Sarah Hutcheon Mancoll
Published on: Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Takoma Park Newsletter

Five Questions for Sarah Hutcheon Mancoll

Sarah and her husband Peter closed on their house in Takoma Park on Valentine’s Day in 2014. She said, “It was the best Valentine’s Day gift!” The couple lives in the PEN neighborhood close to the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church with their two kids, Sammy and Maayan, and their au pair Martyna. “My house’s claim to fame is that Goldie Hawn, who grew up in Takoma Park, used to take dance lessons in our living room,” Sarah explained.

She is the policy director at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues in Washington, DC. Inspired by Facebook COO Cheryl Sandberg’s bestselling book, almost a year ago, Sarah started two Lean In groups in Takoma Park. “I was pregnant with my second child and ready to move up in my career and really struggling to wrap my head around how I was going to ‘step up’ professionally with two young kids at home,” she said.

In honor of Women’s History Month, Sarah kicks off our series of “quick-question” interviews.

  1. Favorite Place/Activity in Takoma Park: The annual house and garden tour—I love to see what other people have done with their homes, and it’s a great opportunity to meet more people in the neighborhood
  2. Best Thing about Living in Takoma Park: I can walk everywhere!
  3. On My Desk Right Now: A “Congress at Your Fingertips” directory, a box of chocolate truffles that my boss brought back from a work trip to New Mexico, and a steno book.
  4. In My “Spare Time”: Lots of reading and yoga at Willow Street
  5. Best Advice I Ever Got (and from whom): Whenever I’ve found myself in a rough patch, my mom reminds me, “This too shall pass.” This saying helps me stay grounded and weather out tough situations.

After reading the book during her pregnancy, she went to the Lean In website, registered a Lean In circle, and started to advertise her circle on neighborhood listservs. “I now have a group of five to ten women who meet about once a month to talk about career and life issues,” she said.

For more information about Takoma Park Women Leaning In or to join the group, visit leanincircles.org/circle/takomapark-women-leaning-in. Send your suggestions for future interviews to tpnewseditor@takomaparkmd.gov.

This article appeared in the March 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.